Emerging-market ETFs see gains

Article Excerpt

Emerging markets, especially those in Latin America, saw a strong recovery in July. The iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF (New York symbol EWZ) gained 13.1%, while the iShares MSCI Mexico Capped ETF (New York symbol EWW) rose 11.9%. A stronger Brazil Real and Mexican Peso against the U.S. dollar spurred the ETF gains. The worst performer among country ETFs was the iShares MSCI Turkey ETF (New York symbol TUR). Its 9.5% drop in July was fuelled by concerns over new powers awarded President Recep Tayyip Erdoğanas and his comments challenging the independence of Turkey’s central bank. Outside of country ETFs, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (New York symbol IBB) gained 5.3%, the SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF (New York symbol XAR) gained 4.7% and the VanEck Vectors Oil Refiners ETF (New York symbol CRAK) gained 3.6%. However, the SPDR S&P Transportation ETF (New York symbol XTN) lost 4.3% in the month. This fund holds a number of airline stocks that performed poorly due to higher fuel prices and worries about overcapacity. overcapacity…